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. Arafat 'opposes new cabinet' .

. Monday, 14 April, 2003, 00:15 GMT 01:15 UK x x

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Arafat and Abu Mazen are widely regarded as rivals

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has rejected a list of cabinet members drawn up by Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, according to Palestinian sources.

They say Mr Abbas - a leading moderate also known as Abu Mazen - has demoted senior supporters of Mr Arafat and taken the powerful interior ministry for himself.

An unnamed Palestinian official also told AFP new agency that the demoted officials are refusing to join the proposed cabinet.

Mr Arafat has been under international pressure to share power with Abu Mazen - who has called for reform of the Palestinian Authority and a suspension of suicide attacks against Israelis.

The senior Palestinian figures who are reportedly refusing to serve in the new cabinet include current chief negotiator Saeb Erakat, Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo and Economy Minister Maher al-Masri, the official told AFP.

He said Mr Erakat and Mr Abed Rabbo had been given the lesser role of minister without portfolio. Mr Masri is said to have been offered the energy portfolio.

The Central Committee of Mr Arafat's Fatah movement was due to discuss the proposal on Sunday - but meeting was cancelled because of the Palestinian leader's objections, AFP reports.

Mr Arafat is said to be particularly unhappy with the appointment of former Gaza security chief Mohammad Dahlan as minister of state for interior affairs.

Mr Dahlan, who has also criticised suicide bombings, fell out with Mr Arafat last year.

Foreign contacts

Only two members of the outgoing Palestinian Cabinet - Finance Minister Salam Fayad and Education Minister Naim Abul Hummus - remain in the same posts.

Nabil Shaath, the outgoing planning minister, is reported to have been given the external affairs portfolio.

Mr Shaath has extensive contacts with foreign leaders and has acted as de facto foreign minister.

Interim peace agreements had prevented the Palestinians from creating a formal foreign ministry.

Mr Shaath and Nasser Yousef, a former senior security official, will also serve as deputy prime ministers, AP news agency reported. 
 

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. Baath officials backed to rebuild Iraq .

. Sunday, 13 April, 2003, 14:25 GMT 15:25 UK  x x

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Looting is testing British troops in Basra

Baath Party members who were loyal to Saddam Hussein will take part in the reconstruction of Iraq, according to Geoff Hoon.

"They had a system of administration that will deliver," the defence secretary told The Observer.

And many were "perfectly decent people who have not participated in any atrocities".

Mr Hoon later told the BBC it was important to use policing to stamp out the looting which had happened in Iraqi cities.

The defence secretary also said he was confident Saddam Hussein or his remains would be found - as would weapons of mass destruction.

There has already been anger in the southern city of Basra after the man chosen by the British forces there to run the city was revealed to be a Baath Party member.

Mr Hoon told the newspaper: "It is understandable people that have lived in dread and terror of this organisation should go and kick in a few doors."

But he added: "We have to ensure it does not get out of hand."

Mixed picture

The defence secretary told BBC Radio 4's World This Weekend on Sunday that he did not condone looting, which had produced "some awful images".

"We will try and stop looting wherever it occurs, but it has been difficult in some of the cities in the immediate aftermath of their liberation," said Mr Hoon.

There was not a consistent picture over Iraq, he said, so coalition troops were handing out food in southern cities and still fighting in parts of the north.

The first patrols between British forces and former Iraqi police officers had now begun in Basra and were a "good sign for the future", he said.

Hoon: Weapons finds should be independently verified

Mr Hoon said it was dangerous to speculate about what had happened to Saddam Hussein.

But he added: "I am still confident that either he or his remains will be found."

He was also "convinced" there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and argued any finds should be verified by an independent authority.

The AFP news agency later reported senior US Marines officers saying they had found 278 artillery shells carrying a substance which tested positive as a chemical agent.

Jack Straw is flying to Bahrain on Sunday as he embarks on a tour of Gulf states to discuss the reconstruction of Iraq.

The foreign secretary will visit Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, where he will meet US interim administrator for Iraq, Jay Garner.

Syrian warnings

Foreign Office Minister Mike O'Brien will travel to Syria and Iran, who fear they could become American targets in future.

Mr Straw and Mr O'Brien will discuss a "range of bilateral issues, as well as Iraq", according to the Foreign Office.

On Thursday Mr Straw warned Syria "to end any and all assistance to the Iraqi regime and to co-operate fully with the people of Iraq and with the coalition forces".

He urged Syrians to "make a decisive break with the past and so contribute to a better future for the entire region". 

On Sunday Secretary of State Colin Powell warned Syria not to offer any "safe haven" for Iraqi officials fleeing Baghdad.

Syria insists it has offered no help to the Iraqi regime, accusing the US of using the claims to divert attention from American failures.

Restore normality

On Saturday, Jacques Chirac has telephoned Tony Blair to underline his argument that only the UN can effectively restore normality to Iraq.

Downing Street said the two leaders discussed Iraq and other international issues for half an hour.

The call came after President Chirac rang to brief Mr Blair on his discussions with fellow anti-war leaders, German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Russian president Vladimir Putin, in St Petersburg, Russia.

Mr Blair had reportedly refused an invitation to attend.

The prime minister and US President George Bush agreed in Belfast this week that the UN should have a "vital role" in the reconstruction of Iraq.

On Monday, Mr Blair will update MPs on the latest developments in Iraq in a Commons statement.

 

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. Bush tells Syria to 'co-operate' .

. Sunday, 13 April, 2003, 21:35 GMT 22:35 UK x x

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'The Syrian government needs to co-operate'

US President George W Bush has warned Syria against harbouring fugitives from Saddam Hussein's ousted regime in Iraq.

America, he said, expected Iraq's western neighbour to "co-operate" with the US-led coalition and he added that he believed Syria possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMD)- the charge against Iraq which sparked the war there.

"We believe there are chemical weapons in Syria," the president said, speaking to press on the White House lawn.

A senior Syrian diplomat went on US TV on Sunday to deny his country was either producing WMD or assisting Iraqi fugitives and terrorists.

We will not only accept the most rigid inspection regime, we will welcome it heartily  Imad Moustapha Deputy Syrian ambassador in Washington

"It's been a campaign of misinformation and disinformation about Syria since even before the war started - this is just an ongoing series of false accusations," Imad Moustapha, the deputy ambassador in Washington, told NBC news.

On the WMD charge, Mr Moustapha said:

"We will not only accept the most rigid inspection regime, we will welcome it heartily."

Mounting accusations

US intelligence has long suspected Syria of having a well-developed chemical weapons programme as well as long-range missiles. 

Its programme is reported to have started in earnest after clashes with Israel in 1982, with two chemical weapons plants established by 1984 to produce significant amounts of nerve gases such as Sarin and VX. 

The [Syrian] government is making a lot of bad mistakes, a lot of bad judgments in my view  Donald Rumsfeld

President Bush's comments on Sunday followed similar warnings to Syria from two of his most senior officials earlier in the day.

Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who remarked there was "no question" that Iraqi fugitives had gone to Syria, said Syrians had been discovered fighting US troops in Iraq.

"There are a number of non-Iraqis who are in the country, particularly in Baghdad we find... a lot from Syria - most from Syria, it appears," he told CBS.

"The [Syrian] government is making a lot of bad mistakes, a lot of bad judgments in my view," he added.

In an interview for the BBC, Secretary of State Colin Powell said Syria had acted as a conduit for supplies to Saddam's regime.

"We have designated Syria for years as a state that sponsors terrorism," he said.

"We are concerned that materials have flowed through Syria to the Iraqi regime over the years." 

"Also," he added, "we think it would be very unwise... if suddenly Syria suddenly becomes a haven for all these people who should be brought to justice who are trying to get out of Baghdad." 
 

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. Calm after the storms .

. Sunday, 13 April, 2003, 15:09 GMT 16:09 UK x x

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BBC correspondents say a semblance of normal life is returning to three Iraqi cities plagued by looting and violence since Saddam Hussein's regime crumbled.

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Baghdad by Caroline Hawley

For the first time since American troops took over Baghdad, ordinary people are now beginning to venture out onto streets that were the preserve of looters. 

Baghdad residents are beginning to venture outside

Some shops have reopened, local religious leaders have been trying to recover looted goods, storing them in mosques until they can be returned. 

People who fled the war are now coming back to Baghdad but many are still angry at the Americans for allowing the chaos of the past few days, and some demonstrated in central Baghdad. 

Several people demanded that US forces look for relatives they believe are still locked up in underground jails. 

Others wanted water, electricity, jobs and for the Americans to stop looting that is continuing in some areas. 

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Basra by Rupert Wingfield-Hayes

The situation in Iraq's second city Basra is calmer on Sunday. 

British troops occupying the city have today begun putting local Iraqi police back on the streets, to try to bring some order and to stamp out the violence and looting. 

In Basra, the people want supplies as well as peace

Outside the charred remains of Basra's former police headquarters, a group of about 100 men gathered in the morning heat, waiting to be inducted into Basra's new police force. 

Some wore the old green uniforms of Saddam Hussein's police, but most did not. They were too afraid to put their old uniforms on, they told me, as it would identify them as having worked for the old regime. 

While this is being dubbed as a new police force for Basra, the fact is all of the men being recruited today once worked for the old regime. 

British commanders admit that with their own troops stretched to the limit, they have little choice but to re-employ police, who until a week ago worked for Saddam Hussein. How they will be greeted on the streets is another question. 

But the people here are desperate for some semblance of security. 

At night the ripple of machine-gun fire can still be heard across the city, and there is still not a single shop open. 

The looting has died down, but many people here will tell you that is simply because most of the good stuff has already been taken away. 

Most of the city also remains without electricity and consequently without running water. Until the security situation can be improved, none of that is likely to change.

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Mosul by John Simpson

For the moment at any rate, the crisis here seems to be over. 

American soldiers are at last patrolling the streets of Mosul in some numbers and as a result the shops are starting to reopen and something like normal life is beginning to return. 

Looted goods have been returned to a Mosul mosque

People in the city are ascribing some of the credit for all this to the Islamic clergy. 

Many mullahs and imams broadcast appeals for calm and for an end to looting. 

And in the street leading to one mosque in particular, people have been bringing back goods that were stolen and piling them up in the street. 

It is a remarkable turnaround in a short time since, even during the night, there was a wild outbreak of shooting that lasted half an hour and an American soldier was shot outside the main hospital, where the looting and the violence has been greatest. 

But now there are even one or two uniformed policemen on traffic duty in the streets. 
 

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. Frontline Report: Life Returning to Normal in Baghdad .

. Alisha Ryu Baghdad 13 Apr 2003, 13:52 UTC Ryu report - Download 347k (RealAudio)  Listen to Alisha Ryu's report (RealAudio)  x x

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VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu is in Baghdad. She spoke Sunday with David Weber in our London bureau.

Weber: It has been four days since the toppling of the Saddam regime, what is life like in Baghdad now?
 
 

Baghdad residents returning

Ryu: Well I think the civilians are quickly getting back to normal. I noticed today the traffic, the civilian traffic, has increased dramatically. I was in the same area a few days ago and there was no one about. Today, coming up on Highway 8, which is one of the main thoroughfares from the south going up to Baghdad, the roads were clogged with civilian vehicles: trucks, buses, pickup trucks, civilian cars of every type out there. People were out and about, and there is a sense that people are getting back to their jobs, getting back to their homes and things are quieting quite a bit.

Weber: The trouble is, Alisha, they still do not have power, they do not have water in the city, so how can they function?

Ryu: This is a big priority right now for the U.S. military. They are doing all they can right now to try to locate those people who work in the power plants, in the water plants and those kind of things, to try to get the infrastructure back in line again. I do know that the 2nd Brigade has set up a security perimeter around a power plant, and they said that the transformer there is in working condition. It has engineers who have come to take a look at it, and they are getting ready to turn it on. So, there is incremental improvement going on. It is going to take a little bit of time, because what happened was the lights, the water, everything was shut down systematically before the U.S. forces arrived. And there is absolutely no guarantee that when you turn the power back, when you turn the water back on, it is not going to create fires and floods and those kind of things. They want to make sure that everything is safe before they turn the power back on.

Weber: Alisha, what about the looting? Is that is still going on? 

Ryu: The looting has diminished quite a bit. I took a drive with the 2nd Brigade around the sector that has been heavily hit in the last two, three days. The looting that has gone on with the ministries and the hotels and embassies in that area, that has diminished considerably. People seem to have taken what they wanted and are no longer in that area. Of course, the security is much higher today than it has been in the last couple of days. They are putting in a few more checkpoints to make sure the people do not come in and out of that area without identification and without a reason. They are trying to keep the looting aspect to a minimum, and I think it has worked because what I saw today there was little activity in terms of people carting off things. 

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. Human genome 'finally complete' .

. Sunday, 13 April, 2003, 22:59 GMT 23:59 UK x x

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The biological code crackers sequencing the human genome have said they have finished the job - two years ahead of schedule.

Decoding using the power of robotics and computers (Image by The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute)

Their announcement came less than three years after a "rough draft" was published to worldwide acclaim.

When UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and then US President Bill Clinton hailed the publication of the draft in June 2000, 97% of the "book of life" had been read.

The decoding is now virtually 100% complete. The remaining tiny gaps are considered too costly to fill and those in charge of turning genomic data into medical and scientific progress have plenty to be getting on with.

The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, the only British institution taking part in the international effort, completed almost a third of the sequence - the biggest contribution by a single institution.

Its director, Professor Allan Bradley, said that completing the human genome was a vital step on a long road, but that the eventual health benefits could be phenomenal.

"Just one part of this work - the sequencing of chromosome 20 - has already accelerated the search for genes involved in diabetes, leukaemia and childhood eczema.

"We shouldn't expect immediate major breakthroughs but there is no doubt we have embarked on one of the most exciting chapters of the book of life," he said.

High standards

 American institutions have been the major partners in the decoding programme. 

THE DNA MOLECULE  The double-stranded DNA molecule is held together by chemical components called bases  Adenine (A) bonds with thymine (T); cytosine(C) bonds with guanine (G)  These letters form the "code of life"; there are about 2.9 billion base pairs in the human genome wound into 24 distinct bundles, or chromosomes  Written in the DNA are 30,000-40,000 genes which human cells use as templates to make proteins; these sophisticated molecules build and maintain our bodies

Dr Francis Collins, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, US, also pointed to the long-term gains that would come from the information.

"One of our projects is to identify genes that predispose to type II diabetes. 

"This disease affects about 1 in 20 people over 45 and its incidence appears to be increasing. Using freely available map and sequence information [we] have been able to close in on the likely gene on chromosome 20 that is altered in type II diabetes."

When the Human Genome Project was formally launched, there were some who thought it could take 20 years or more to complete. But robotics and supercomputers speeded up the process hugely.

And it is arguable that competition from a privately funded company, Celera Genomics, which produced a rival sequence, hastened the end stages of the project as well.

The purpose of the last three years has been to fill in gaps in the DNA sequence and "proof read" the data to produce a "gold standard" that will inform genetic research for years to come.

Dr Jane Rogers, head of sequencing at the Sanger Institute, said: "We have reached the limits we set on this project, achieving tremendously high standards of quality much more quickly than we hoped.

"The working draft allowed researchers to kick-start a multitude of biomedical projects. Now they have a highly polished end product which will assist them even more.

"It's a bit like moving on from a first-attempt demo music tape to a classic CD," she said.

Knowing virtually the entire sequence of the roughly three billion letters of genetic code in our DNA gives scientists the chance to explore everything that is genetically determined about our lives.

Sir John Sulston, who ran the British end of the project for much of its history, said earlier in April that researchers would "go on mining the data from the human genome for ever".

Identifying genes can now be done in days instead of years. But for medicine, the real challenge is to move from knowing which malfunctioning gene or genes cause a particular condition to knowing how to do something about it.

For this, they will need to understand better how the proteins - the sophisticated molecules which cells make from the gene "templates" - interact to build and maintain our bodies. 

The science of genomics may be well established but the science of proteomics is still in its infancy.

There is, as Professor Bradley said, "a long road" to travel.

 

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. Hungarians vote 'yes' to EU .

. Saturday, 12 April, 2003, 22:10 GMT 23:10 UK x x

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Hungary celebrates an embarrassing result

Hungary is set to back entry into the European Union by a large majority, according to first results from Saturday's referendum.

With more than 99% of ballots counted, returns showed about 84% of voters backing entry, the Hungarian Electoral Committee announced.

Fireworks exploded in the night sky above the River Danube in the capital to the strains of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony - the EU anthem - as the authorities welcomed the result.

But turnout was only about 46% suggesting many Hungarians had expressed their disapproval or fears about membership by staying away from voting stations, the BBC's Nick Thorpe reports from Budapest. 

This was much less than the resounding "yes" the government had been hoping for, our correspondent says, and somewhat embarrassing for Hungary.

Prime Minister Peter Medgyessy put a brave face on the result nevertheless.

The citizens of Hungary, he said in a speech in front of the Academy of Sciences, like good parents, had provided a future for their children.

Hungary is the third of 10 countries invited to join the EU in May 2004 to put the question to a vote.

Our correspondent says the campaign for the referendum appeared weighed in its favour from the outset, buoyed by "yes" votes in Malta and Slovenia. 

One-sided debate

Nick Thorpe notes that an EU communications office was set up by the centre-left government and ran a slick and very modern campaign. 

DECIDING THIS YEAR  8 March - Malta  23 March - Slovenia  12 April - Hungary  16-17 May - Slovakia  10-11 May - Lithuania  8 June - Poland  15-16 June - Czech Republic  14 September - Estonia  20 September - Latvia  The Greek part of Cyprus is due to sign an EU accession treaty on 16 April

A digitalised telephone centre fielded hundreds of thousands of questions but enquirers were faced with standard responses. 

Critics say real experts, knowledgeable enough to answer real questions, would have been more effective. 

Public meetings around the country have been more popular, dealing with worries about new regulations, workplaces and prices. The centre-left government has underlined that accession will be good for everyone. 

The centre-right Fidesz Party, led by former Prime Minister Victor Orban, warns that many could suffer initially, but that the EU will be good for Hungary in the long run. 

Battling against almost the entire political establishment, a small cluster of right wing groups and individuals called for a "no" vote, arguing that the country was being sold out to foreign capital and that Hungarian smallholders in particular would suffer. 
 

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. Iraq latest: At-a-glance .

. Sunday, 13 April, 2003, 23:52 GMT 00:52 UK x x

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BBC News Online charts the latest developments in the Iraq conflict. 

[All times GMT and approximate]

Sunday, 13 April

2330: Australian Prime Minister John Howard defends the war on Iraq as the only way to oust Saddam Hussein, in a radio interview reported by AP, a day after peace protestors marched through Australian cities.

2225: US marines exchanged fire with snipers in a building in Baghdad early on Monday close to the Palestine Hotel, home to foreign media covering the war on Iraq, reports said.

2039: Yemen grants asylum to Iraq's ambassador to Egypt, Mohsen Khalil. Mr Khalil, who is a former ambassador to Yemen itself, is due to arrive within 24 hours. 

1845: Ayatollah Sistani's office in Iran says the lives of senior clerics in Najaf are under serious threat and it is the responsibility of the US-led coalition to ensure their security

1810: More than 30 boats, including the Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior, stage a protest against the war in Iraq by sailing to and fro for two hours in the Spanish port city of Barcelona, sounding their sirens.

1803: Several hospitals in Baghdad are without water and electricity and short of medical equipment due to looting, the International Committee of the Red Cross reports.

1745: Armed men purporting to represent tribal groups in Tikrit say Iraqi troops have left and they are now negotiating a truce with the US military, al-Jazeera TV reports from the city.

1733: "We believe there are chemical weapons in Syria," President Bush says. He calls on Damascus to "co-operate".

1712: US President George W Bush warns Syria against harbouring Iraqi fugitives. He also hails the rescue of the seven POWs.

1705: US Central Command names seven POWs freed in Iraq on Sunday. They include two Apache helicopter pilots and five maintenance soldiers. 

1635: Fire breaks out in Baghdad's National Library, home to Iraq's national archives, an AFP correspondent reports.

1633: Kuwaiti fire-fighters extinguish the last oil-well fire in Iraq's al-Rumeila field, just across the northern border, a Kuwait oil industry spokesman tells AP.

1610: A senior Kurdish official, Hoshyar Zebari, reports the arrest of Saddam Hussein's half-brother in comments quoted by the AP news agency. Watban Ibrahim al-Tikriti was captured in a joint US and Kurdish operation north-west of Mosul, he said. No official US confirmation yet reported.

1604: US troops plan to mount joint patrols of Baghdad with Iraqi security forces, a marine spokesman tells AFP. "The intended plan is to have joint patrols with one Iraqi car along with one of our Humvees."

1557: Iran's supreme spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, advises Iraqis to organise post-war reconstruction through mosques.

1545: Sounds of fierce fighting are heard from the direction of Tikrit, witnesses tell AFP.

1524: Heavy fighting erupts on the southern outskirts of Tikrit between US marines backed by tanks and Cobra helicopter gunships and planes, and Iraqi forces backed by tanks, a Canadian reporter with US troops reports.

1510: The head of an Iran-based Shia Muslim opposition group, Ayatollah Mohammad Baqer al-Hakim, calls on supporters to set up committees in Iraq to assume the responsibilities of local authorities and provide essential services. 

1450: Thousands of Iraqis are returning to Baghdad from the countryside where they had sought shelter from US-led air attacks, Reuters reports. A tailback of traffic stretching several kilometres is reported to the east of the city.

1447: US forces have yet to find conclusive proof that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction but several thousand sites remain to be searched, General Franks says.

1431: More than 90 Iraqi refugees are stranded at the Jordanian border in dire conditions, the UN agency for refugees (UNHCR) reports. The UNHCR is asking Jordan to allow them to cross. 

1412: Four US paratroopers have been shot and wounded while clearing an Iraqi arms dump in Mahmudiya, about 40 km (25 miles) south of central Baghdad, a US officer tell Reuters news agency.

1400: According to an unconfirmed report by AFP news agency, US marines say they have discovered 278 artillery shells carrying a substance which tested positive as a chemical agent.

1355: Kurdish refugees returning to Kirkuk are telling Arab families living in their former homes for more than a decade that they must leave or be kicked out, a BBC correspondent reports.

1345: US commander General Franks says the war in Iraq is not over yet despite all the advances made, and it will continue until all pockets of resistance are overcome.

1323: French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin arrives in Saudi Arabia for talks on Iraq's future.

1316: Unconfirmed Kurdish reports say coalition forces arrested a half-brother and advisor to Saddam Hussein, Watban Ibrahim al-Tikriti, as he was attempting to cross the border into Syria. He is on the coalition's wanted list.

1315: Pope John Paul II urges solidarity with those suffering in conflicts in Iraq, the Middle East and elsewhere in the world at a mass for Palm Sunday.

1311: About 100 Iraqi engineers and other civil servants respond to a US military appeal in Baghdad for volunteers to restore both law and order and public services, a BBC correspondent reports. Around 20 former army and police officers have also registered to go back to their jobs.

1309: US Defence Secretary Rumsfeld says he has no doubt that some Iraqis from the ousted regime have fled to Syria.

1305: Israel lowers its state of alert over the war in Iraq, telling citizens they no longer need carry gas masks and keep a sealed room in their homes. But anti-missile batteries will remain in place for the time being, the defence ministry says.

1300: US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld dismisses claims by Amir al-Saadi, the arrested scientific adviser to Saddam Hussein, that Iraq has no weapons of mass destruction. 

1245: US tanks and armoured personnel carriers roll into Kirkuk to boost security there after friction with Turkey over the presence of Kurdish fighters in the northern oil city, Reuters news agency reports. 

1220: US Brigadier-General Vincent Brooks says seven Americans previously held by Iraqi forces have been rescued. Earlier, officials put the number at six. 

1137: US General Tommy Franks says US forces are moving on Tikrit and "there was not any resistance".

1059: Six American prisoners-of-war have been rescued by marines north of Baghdad, reports say. The US war commander, General Tommy Franks, says the six "appear to be healthy". 

1010: British troops begin to re-employ police who worked for the old regime for patrols in Basra. 

0953: Some semblance of normality has returned to Mosul, reports the BBC's John Simpson in the northern city. US troops are patrolling the streets, a few shops have reopened and some looters have even returned stolen goods, he says.

0938: US marines are advancing rapidly towards Tikrit, the home town of Saddam Hussein and the last remaining Iraqi city outside coalition control, US military spokesman Captain Stewart Upton said. Western correspondents earlier reported no sign of Iraqi army activity on the road to Tikrit.

0830: Gunmen are surrounding the home of Iraq's leading Shia cleric in Najaf and have given him 48 hours to leave the country or face attack, reports say.

0719: Iraqi opposition leader Ahmed Chalabi says members of Free Iraqi Forces will go to Baghdad to try to restore order. 

0708: Abducted Malaysian journalists are reported to have been released unharmed.

0618: Three Malaysian journalists have been kidnapped by gunmen in Baghdad in an attack which left two aid workers injured, according to Malaysian officials.

0602: UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw will travel to Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to discuss reconstruction of Iraq, officials say. His foreign office colleague Mike O'Brien is scheduled to visit Iran and Syria. 

0550: US military officials say a total of 310 "suicide vests" packed with explosives have been found in Baghdad. Earlier reports revealed the discovery in a school of 40 vests designed to be worn over clothing.

0505: US forces use air patrols over Baghdad for the first time to try to improve security. 

0300: China calls on the US to restore law and order in Baghdad as a matter of urgency, after its embassy in the city is looted. 

0240: Russian foreign ministry spokesman says US and British forces bear full responsibility for distributing humanitarian aid and protecting historic monuments in Iraq. 

0210: Developing countries and lobby groups at the IMF/World Bank meeting in Washington say the war in Iraq has distracted international attention from the fight on world poverty. 

0145: The United States sends home the B-2 Stealth bombers it deployed to the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia for the Iraq war - a sign that air war may be winding down, says BBC Pentagon correspondent Nick Childs. 

0135: Man who shot dead a US marine outside a Baghdad hospital on Saturday was a Syrian national, US military says. 

Reporters with the US and British military are restricted in what they can say about precise locations or military plans. Click here for more details

 

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. Iraqis Help US Troops Collect Hidden, Abandoned Missiles .

. Laurie Kassman Baghdad 13 Apr 2003, 18:12 UTC Listen to Laurie Kassman's report (RealAudio)  Kassman report - Download 355k (RealAudio)  x x

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U.S. marines trying to help neighborhoods get police and hospital services back up and running find themselves helping Iraqis to clear their schools, hospitals, and even their backyards of weapons left there by Iraqi troops. 

First Lieutenant Michael Cerroni with local professionals (VOA photo - L. Kassman)

Two days ago First Lieutenant Michael Cerroni started organizing small meetings in Baghdad's al-Muthana neighborhood to talk about how to get basic services up and running again. He meets daily with lawyers, doctors, engineers and other professionals.

 They talk about what needs to be done. But they also are directing the U.S. soldiers to weapons stockpiles left behind by the Iraqi army.

 After the latest meeting Sunday, one of the participants, a computer technician, came up to tell Lieutenant Cerroni about a trailer parked by a highway with its back doors ripped open and four large missiles piled in the back.
 
 

A trailer truck with four missiles parked beside a major highway (VOA photo - L. Kassman)

"He came to me and said to me, I have got something to show you, some missiles," said Lieutenant Cerroni. "And again, I thought it was rockets, because we have seen so many rockets. He said, 'no, they're larger, about nine meters long.' So I said, 'okay we'll go take a look.' And we drove down there, and my jaw just dropped. Right on the side of a highway. Anyone with a tractor could just back up and drive away with them."

 On first inspection, Lieutenant Cerroni said they looked like banned Russian-made Frog-7 missiles with a range of 1,000 kilometers. But experts will have to inspect them to determine exactly what they are.

 The Marine officer says people come in all day long to point out where Iraqi soldiers hid their weapons. At one school, the unit found guns and missiles stockpiled from floor to ceiling.
 
 

Close caption of abandoned missiles (VOA photo - L. Kassman)

"There is a school that had probably from 5 to 6,000 RPGs [Rocket-Propelled Grenade], machine guns, anti-tank missiles, surface-to-air missiles stored in the school," he said. "So we stood guard on that, and it has taken us two full days, probably 30 dump trucks, to get rid of it all. And, we are still not done."

 At another school, there were more than 100 suicide bomber vests, neatly tailored leather vests lined with explosives. Several small children were nearby, playing and reading books.

 Lieutenant Cerroni says people also are asking the soldiers to help them dig up weapons Iraqi forces had made them bury in their backyards.

 The Marine officer and his unit of 20 men have based themselves in a geriatrics clinic, which had been used by the Iraqi military as a communications center. 

He says doctors and dentists from the neighborhood are bringing supplies to the clinic to help get it open and functioning again.

 Without electricity, it has been hard to get word out, but Lieutenant Cerroni says a neighborhood mosque has volunteered to use its loudspeaker to announce the council meetings and other information for the neighborhood.

 The Marine unit is also helping to clean up a neighborhood school so classes can restart this coming week. Lieutenant Cerroni says it is the best way to keep children off the streets, which are still littered with weapons and explosives.

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End of article 9

. Joint patrols begin in Basra .

. Sunday, 13 April, 2003, 21:46 GMT 22:46 UK x x

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Military forces have struggled to maintain law and order in Basra

The first joint British military and Iraqi police patrols have begun in Iraq as efforts continue to restore law and order.

Local police, accompanied by British forces, have started patrolling in Basra and al-Faw in southern Iraq and moves are underway in Baghdad to recruit volunteers.

A state of lawlessness followed the fall of the Baath party regime in Iraq and British and American forces struggled to maintain order.

Two police advisors from the Ministry of Defence in London were sent to Basra to help the British military regain control.

Militarily you can't just switch from one to the other within 24 hours and there are still irregulars around  Colonel Chris Vernon

It is hoped the new patrols, which will be closely monitored by the MoD advisers, will help restore order.

But requests earlier in the week for former Iraqi police officers to come back to work sparked controversy.

There was anger after one man chosen was revealed to be a Baath Party member.

Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon has indicated that former members of the Baath party will be recruited to rebuild Iraq after being closely vetted.

He said many of them were "perfectly decent people who have not participated in any atrocities". 

They are the best I've got  Lt Col Mike Riddell Webster

Lieutenant Colonel Mike Riddell Webster, of Black Watch, who is co-ordinating the peace-keeping efforts in Basra, is unsure how many police officers still support the old regime.

"They are the best I've got," he told BBC News.

"They will be operating under direct British control. We will see how it goes."

But one Basra woman called the police thieves.

"They just want bribes," she told BBC News. 

Marines are patrolling with local policemen in Al Faw, south of Basra

A promise by soldiers that they would be employing 120 local labourers also caused problems.

It resulted in troops struggling to hold back a 200-strong mob who turned up at their base at the presidential palace looking for work.

According to military officials on the ground in Basra, the situation in the city is slowly beginning to improve.

Slow improvement

Certain aspects of the city's infrastructure, such as traffic and street lights, have been restored and people are beginning to buy goods from local markets again.

Soldiers struggle top hold back a mob of Iraqis looking for work

Looting, which has been rife for the past several days, also looks as if it may be on the wane.

The UK forces have been criticised for not having brought the situation under control sooner.

But UK forces spokesman in Kuwait, Colonel Chris Vernon, said it would take time to restore order throughout Iraq. 

"I think what people have got to understand is that we were considered as a war fighting force out here," he said. 

"Militarily you can't just switch from one to the other within 24 hours and there are still irregulars around. 

"We've done it gradually. We've huge experience of this in Northern Ireland and in the American towns you are seeing the Americans switching their capability."

 

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End of article 10

. Mass jailbreak in Brazil .

. Saturday, 12 April, 2003, 21:26 GMT 22:26 UK x x

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Officials in Brazil say at least 100 juvenile offenders have escaped from a detention centre in the city of Sao Paulo.

The police are using helicopters and police dogs to search for the escapees.

Earlier this week, the international organisation Human Rights Watch criticised Brazil over the abuse of children in its prisons.

The group said children were routinely beaten by police and other youths in detention centres.

It also said the authorities failed to provide the children with medical care and education.

Correspondents say there have been 30 jail breaks and rebellions so far this year in Brazilian prisons. 

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service
 

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End of article 11

. Militias leave Afghan city .

. Sunday, 13 April, 2003, 12:49 GMT 13:49 UK x x

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In northern Afghanistan, the United Nations is monitoring the withdrawal of rival militias in the city of Maimana after fighting there last week left 13 dead and 17 injured.

A UN spokesman said it was estimated that the two factions, Jamiat-i and Junbish, had withdrawn 50% of their forces to the outskirts of Maimana on Sunday. 

The UN agency for refugees (UNHCR) has warned that unless governments work to concretely improve the security situation in the country, there will be a vicious cycle of less humanitarian and development aid and further instability. 

Under the agreement signed in Maimana on Friday:

• No armed men are allowed in the city apart from the two factions' highest-ranking local commanders, their deputies and two bodyguards each
• Heavy artillery is being removed and the police are responsible for the city's security
• The UN will help with the registration of the weapons collected
• The UN is also sending a team to secure areas where unexploded ordnance and live munitions have been found 

Talks in Kabul

Civilians in Maimana have made clear they do not want a return to instability. 

Four hundred residents protested after the latest clashes and demanded immediate disarmament. 

In Kabul, Afghan President Hamid Karzai is meeting provincial governors, with security is high on the agenda. 

The recent killing of an Italian tourist in southern Afghanistan has further increased concern. 

For its part, the UNHCR has warned that if security throughout the country remains fragile, there will be a widening of the ethnic divide as well as growing discontent among Afghans as they see less progress with reconstruction. 
 

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End of article 12

. N Korea 'open to dialogue' .

. Saturday, 12 April, 2003, 21:18 GMT 22:18 UK x x

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North Korea opens itself to offers

An official from North Korea's foreign ministry has hinted the secretive communist state will accept United States demands for multilateral talks on its nuclear weapons programme.

The spokesman said the talks depended on the attitude taken by the US, the North Korean state news agency reported.

Pyongyang has previously offered only bilateral talks with the US while Washington has insisted on multilateral discussions that include North Korea's neighbours, China, Russia, South Korea and Japan.

The US State Department replied on Saturday it was studying the North Korean proposal "with interest".

"We expect to follow up through the appropriate diplomatic channels," said spokesman Philip Reeker.

North Korea's spokesman suggested the crisis could be resolved of the US took a "sincere" approach to talks.

"If the US is ready to make a bold switchover in its Korea policy for a settlement of the nuclear issue, the DPRK will not stick to any particular dialogue format," he said.

Next target?

North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-il, recently made a highly symbolic visit to an air force base.

Mr Kim told pilots that he was glad to see them ready to "beat back enemies whenever they challenge", official radio reported. 

North Korea is thought to be worried that it will be targeted next by the US after Iraq.

Both countries were labelled by US President George W Bush as part of an "axis of evil". 

Relations between North Korea and the US have been deteriorating since last October, when the US announced that North Korea had admitted to a secretive enriched uranium programme. 

In a report predating the crisis, released on Thursday, the American CIA said it had been suspicious that this had been the case for several years. 

The unclassified report to Congress, which assessed the situation in North Korea during the first half of 2002, said Pyongyang appeared to be aiming to build a plant that could produce enough uranium for two or more nuclear weapons a year. 
 

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End of article 13

. Powell Warns Syria Against Giving Asylum to Top Iraqi Officials .

. Michael Drudge London 13 Apr 2003, 10:48 UTC